A local women’s rights advocacy group has teamed up with an international foundation in a three-year programme to reach out to victims of domestic violence in the city. That includes new arrivals from the mainland, the lesbian community and young students who suffered from what was called “dating violence”, said Linda To Kit-lai, founding member and executive director of HER Fund, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organisation.

"Our approach … is to use the ‘soft power’ of business," he says. "These businesses have influence as powerful economic actors and in countries in Africa and Southeast Asia; they are often very important to the local economy. [...] Soft power is one option, but companies could potentially use their economic clout by threatening to pull out of a country.